Re: Programming as a Profession

From: infobahn (infobahn_at_btinternet.com)
Date: 01/25/05 

Date: Tue, 25 Jan 2005 01:48:34 +0000 (UTC)

Programmer Dude wrote:
> Ufit writes:
>
>
>>Thats exactly what's going on. If you have a large database with
>>collected codes you don't have to rewrite projects but slightly
>>modify and sell to bunch of other 'dudes'. That is what destroys
>>coding development and IT branch.

(Ufit: this is called "code re-use", and it's a good thing.)

>>IMO if you buy from such people you are killing or contributing
>>to destroying the economy.

(Ufit: whose economy? Not the economy of the people who are
being economical with programming resources!)

>
>
> No, just destroying your view of what the economy *ought* to be.
> There will always BE an economy.... just not the one WE want!!

Depends on who "WE" is.

>
> While I hate the offshore trend right now,

If you mean the exodus of jobs from the USA, please remember
that this is an international newsgroup. One man's offshore
is another man's onshore. What's the opposite of exodus? Inodus? :-)

> I believe we'll never
> change it until we as programmers get our act together and start
> offering something perceived as valuable to business, and a big
> part of that is recognizing the difference between serious
> professional programmer's, wannabes and "also rans".

That's easy. Review their Usenet history. :-)

> MOST other professions with such a range of worker quality are
> not taken very seriously. I believe that it will be only when we
> offer a truly professional face that WE will be taken seriously.

Is it not "truly professional" to use stuff again when we
know it works? (The original complaint here appears to have
been against code re-use.)

> Consider an example.
>
> Around here--upper Midwest--every Wells Fargo ATM I visit has, in
> large bright yellow letters, on at least two screens, the proudly
> misspelled word, "CHEKCING". [teeth grind]

How do they feel about shotguns in your area?

> And having the work done by some non-English-speaking programmer
> is no excuse.

Especially if the program is to be written, tested and used
in, say, Nairobi. Please remember that this is an international newsgroup.

<snip>

> I recently encountered a situation with a vendor API that resulted
> in the following startling test:
>
> Dim got_record As Boolean
>
> got_record = object.FirstRecord()
>
> If got_record Then
> Print "Got Record!"
> End If
> If Not got_record Then
> Print "Not Got Record!"
> End If
>
> Just imagine my jaw dropping when I ran this test and got:
>
> Got Record!
> Not Got Record!

The joy of programming. :-)

>
> Until WE change that, until I have approximately the same guarentee
> of quality I'd get seeking a lawyer or doctor, then we have little to
> offer to offset cheap second/third world programmers.

Three worlds? So far as we know right now, there is only one world.
Let's not spoil it by behaving divisively.

> And tell you what, many of those guys and gals treat it a lot more
> seriously. The two Indian programmers in my office are very, very
> sharp and capable.

Then you're lucky. Many programmers are neither sharp nor capable,
and (at least in my experience) nationality has little or nothing
to do with it.